Gallup poll finds only 37% of Republicans trust US election integrity ahead of midterms

Overall confidence holds at 49%, unchanged from 2022, as Gallup flags highly unusual partisan divide compared with global norms

By LineZotpaper

Published8 October 2026

Read Time2 min

With less than a month to go before the US midterm elections, a new Gallup poll has found that only 37 percent of Republicans and 35 percent of independents are confident in the honesty of the country's elections, compared with 63 percent of Democrats. Overall, 49 percent of Americans expressed confidence, unchanged from the 2022 midterms.

The survey, released on Wednesday, underscores a deep partisan divide that Gallup described as "highly unusual" compared with global patterns. In more than 100 countries polled over the past 15 years, people who approve of their national leadership are generally more likely to trust their elections. The United States is the only country where this pattern has reversed under President Donald Trump's second term.

According to Gallup, 52 percent of Americans who disapprove of the country's leadership now express confidence in election integrity, compared with just 41 percent of those who approve. That marks a shift from 2025, the first year of Trump's second term, when confidence was nominally higher among approvers (51 percent) than disapprovers (45 percent).

Under former President Joe Biden, 81 percent of Americans who approved of the government expressed confidence in elections, while only 30 percent of those who disapproved did so.

“Since 2025 and Trump's return to the White House, the relationship between leadership approval and confidence in elections has disappeared,” Gallup wrote in a statement.

The polling organisation warned that the unusual divide could have implications for the November elections, raising questions about whether some voters will view the results as legitimate.

Globally, Gallup reported that in 2025, 70 percent of people who approved of their national leadership expressed confidence in the honesty of their elections, compared with 30 percent among those who disapproved. The US pattern now runs counter to that trend.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Analysis

Why This Matters

Low trust in election integrity among Republicans and independents could fuel disputes over midterm results and increase pressure on election officials.
With overall confidence stuck at 49 percent, a majority of Americans remain skeptical about the honesty of the electoral system.
The reversal of the normal global pattern (where leadership approvers trust elections more) signals a uniquely American crisis of institutional confidence.

Background

The Gallup poll comes ahead of the US midterm elections, where control of Congress is at stake. Trust in election integrity has been a flashpoint since the 2020 presidential election, with repeated false claims of widespread fraud undermining public confidence. The Supreme Court recently rejected Trump administration plans on postal ballots, and election officials across the country have been preparing for potential chaos. The current polling suggests that partisan mistrust may persist regardless of which party holds power.

Key Perspectives

Democratic voters: 63 percent express confidence in elections, reflecting a belief that the system is largely secure and that fraud allegations are overstated. Republican voters: Only 37 percent are confident, consistent with a long-running narrative that the electoral system is unreliable. Independent voters: 35 percent trust election integrity, placing them closer to Republicans than Democrats, which could swing the political dynamic if disputes arise over close races.

What to Watch

How state and local election officials handle potential challenges to results in contested districts.
Whether overall confidence shifts after the midterm elections, depending on which party wins.
Any additional court rulings or legislation affecting voting procedures before November.

Sources

US Republicans, independents express low trust in election integrity: Poll — Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera